Allegiant by Veronica Roth

Allegiant, Veronica Roth.  New York:  Katherine Tegen Books/ HarperCollins Publishers, 2013.  e-book, 343 pps.


@VeronicaRoth on Twitter

http://veronicarothbooks.blogspot.com/ 


Living in a fishbowl is awkward and can lead to suicide a la Sylvia Plath.  Or it can make you stronger, possibly braver.  Or perhaps your world will implode.  Revolution is composed of blood and guts and ideology.  The rebels know they are not in for a walk in the park or a picnic.  Only fools imagine otherwise.

Allegiant is the third book in the popular Divergent Series written by Veronica Roth.  The factions have been broken apart and the power seat has shifted.  Lovers Tobias and Tris find themselves at the Chicago Airport along with their friends and frienemies Christine, Uriah, Peter, and Caleb.  There are other people there also.  The other people all seem to have important functions in this new temporary holding place.  Outside the airport, danger lurks.  Inside is not really any safer.

The airport has been reworked into a patrol station and genetics laboratories.  D.N.A. has been unraveled and those with superior genes are endeavoring to fix the mess that is the United States since the Purity Wars.  Tobias/Four is haunted.  By today's standards, some clinician would diagnose P.T.S.D. and offer him drugs and some kind of therapy.  Nothing of the sort exists.  There is only the promise of love and some sort of freedom to sustain him.  But it may not be enough.  It takes extraordinary courage and bravery to truly let go of old dreams and move forward into the unknown.

sapphoq reviews says:  The explanations about the genetics behind the divergent series in Allegiant may be tedious to those who are not science-minded and not expansive or precise enough to satisfy the fans of hard sci-fi.  There is however, much for the geek to love about the series and this book.  Because a revolt is in progress, blood and guts and battle-cries echo throughout Allegiant.  Plenty of action and trickery abound.  Allegiant is a deeply satisfying and unsettling read.  The entire series is highly recommended to those who love an intricate plot and lovers of dystopian fiction. 

The Transfer by Veronica Roth

The Transfer: A Divergent Story, Veronica Roth.  New York:  Katherine Tegen Books/ HarperCollins, 2013.  e-book, 35 pps.

@VeronicaRoth on Twitter
http://veronicarothbooks.blogspot.com/ 

Fans of Veronica Roth [like me] who have read Divergent and Insurgent [like me] and who are eagerly awaiting the arrival of Allegiant [like me] in October will be thrilled to learn that one of the short stories about Toby Eaton a.k.a. Four arrived on September 3rd [as I was] if they don't already know it and haven't already read it.

Those of you who haven't-- if you are reading the series-- really ought to download The Transfer and sign up for the next three shorts after this one.  I won't say too much here.  Just that The Transfer is a bit of the back story about Four, how he got his nic and a bit of his childhood memories.  His dad coached him on how to answer the test questions but Toby didn't exactly obey.  Nuff said.

sapphoq reviews says:  If you haven't gotten The Transfer yet, you should.  If you haven't read Veronica Roth's first two books of the series yet, you should.  Especially if you like tight writing with action, rebellious teens, and an interesting but shadowy sort of dystopia.  Highly recommended, as is anything that Veronica Roth writes.  Yes, I'm a diehard fan.  I appreciate excellence in the written word.